In recent years, development of semiconductor parts into increasingly fine structures and the development of interconnections into smaller pitches have proceeded. In view of this, a substrate storage container, having a high sealability that provides prevention against contamination of the precision substrates, such as semiconductor wafers, held therein, and having a capability of being handled automatically, is demanded. In order to deal with such industry needs, there have been substrate storage containers whose door element for opening and closing the container body is automatically attached to, and removed from, the container body (see patent documents 1 and 2).
A substrate storage container of this type includes: for example, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, a container body 1 for accommodating a multiple number of unillustrated precision substrates; a multiple number of positioning parts 40A arranged at the bottom of this container body 1; a door element 20 for opening and closing the open front of container body 1; and a locking mechanism for locking and unlocking door element 20 fitted to the front of container body 1, and can be positioned and mounted on unillustrated processing equipment by means of the multiple positioning parts 40A.
Container body 1 has a robotic flange that is held by an automatic transporter called an OHT, attached on the top thereof, and is hoisted and conveyed with the robotic flange being held thereby. Multiple positioning parts 40A are arranged at the bottom of container body 1 in a predetermined pattern. Each positioning part 40A is composed of a pair of parallel ribs 2 formed on the bottom surface of container body 1 and a hollow track 6A formed in a bottom plate 4 covering the bottom surface of container body 1 and fitted around the paired parallel ribs 2 from below.
The locking mechanism, though not illustrated, is incorporated in the door element and locked or unlocked by an actuation key of a door element opening/closing device as a part of the processing equipment. The processing equipment has a multiple number of positioning pins 50 that will fit into positioning elements 40A, set (see FIG. 12) on the mounting surface on which a substrate storage container is mounted, and also has a sensor for detecting the presence of a substrate storage container.
Patent Document 1:
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 2000-58633
Patent document 2:
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open 2003-174081.